


Three and Nine

by BardofHeartDive



Series: A Good Ride [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fic Exchange, Gift Exchange, Headcanon, Mass Effect 3 spoilers, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-02 22:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4076848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardofHeartDive/pseuds/BardofHeartDive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaidan and Garrus come to an understanding after the stand-off at the Citadel, an exchange with bondlikejames96. The companion piece is entitled <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4074583">Brothers in Armax</a> by the same author.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three and Nine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bondlikejames96](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bondlikejames96/gifts).



> Special thanks to bondlikejames96 for agreeing to this exchange with me. Having this idea as a Shenko fan, I was interested in seeing it from Shekarian viewpoint and I could not be happier with the results. If you have not checked out Brothers in Armax, I recommend it, as well as the lengthier [A Certain Shade of Blue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3427124/chapters/7509119) also by bondlikejames96.

Kaidan stayed in the starboard observation room another twenty or thirty minutes after Shepard left. It seemed emptier, lonelier now that she had come and gone and he wasn’t sure if talking with her had made things better or worse. On the one hand, nothing in the galaxy made him happier than her company. On the other, their conversation gave him so much more to obsess about. Now, he could dissect every word, every movement, every expression, searching for hidden meanings that might or might not be real. As if his students and his parents and the state of Earth weren’t enough.

He would think himself insane in this room with the stars.

He needed to get out, maybe explore the rest of the ship or catch up with the crew. He hadn’t seen Joker, Vega, or Adams since Mars and, though he heard Dr. Chakwas had come to check on him at Huerta, he hadn’t been conscious at the time. There were also Alliance members he knew only by reputation that he was interested in actually meeting.

The first person he encountered, though, was Garrus, standing in front of the elevator, staring at the Memorial Wall. He was still the way only snipers could be still, contemplating the name plates. Kaidan approached him slowly, not sure how the turian would feel about company, but before he had to decide Garrus turned toward him.

“Kaidan,” he said in greeting. He offered his hand, which Kaidan accepted, and gave a firm shake. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you before, I’m glad you’re back.”

“Thanks, Garrus. I’m glad to be here.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the kitchen that used to be his work station and added, “It is strange, though. The ship’s almost the old Normandy but not quite. It’ll take some getting used to.”

“You weren’t involved with the retrofit?”

“Just little and only through schematics. I never actually came aboard. Anderson tried to get me on more than once but, well, something else always came up.”

Garrus’s subharmonics hummed in understanding and he said, “There’s a lounge on the port side. It’s got a bar and a poker table. And you should see Shepard’s new cabin.”

Kaidan felt his shoulders stiffen and had time to hope Garrus didn’t notice before the turian started to backpedal.

“Not that I was in her cabin. I mean, I was there but I wasn’t there to . . . that is . . . we weren’t . . . ” He sighed. “She needed help with the fish tank.”

Despite the absurdity of the statement Kaidan believed him so he asked the next most important question.

“Her cabin has a fish tank?”

“A huge thing. Takes up most of one wall,” Garrus said, nodding emphatically. “There were some issues with the filter. It made an awful noise when it kicked on. Woke her up more than once so she asked me to take a look at it. You know me and my . . . ”

“Calibrations?”

“Calibrations,” he confirmed with a chuckle. “It never bothered her after that.” His eyes flicked up to the wall and all the amusement drained from his face. “I suspect other things kept her up though.”

“Yeah,” Kaidan agreed. His eyes drifted across the names and settled on the one that still kept him up now and then. “You know, I look at this wall and I think it’s too many. Too many friends lost. And then I think, it’s amazing that it’s only this many. I mean, really, how many times could any of us have ended up on this wall?”

“She wouldn’t have taken the shot.”

Kaidan hadn’t been thinking of any time in particular but he knew what Garrus meant. Now that it had been brought up, it occurred to him that the stand-off should have been in the forefront of his mind. When he thought about it, though, it didn’t take long to figure out why it wasn’t. She wouldn’t have pulled the trigger. He could admit now that he wouldn’t have either. Any uncertainty he had when their guns had been drawn was gone. That was all that mattered.

To Garrus he said, “I know. I wasn’t sure then but . . . ”

“I knew as soon you stepped between her and Udina,” Garrus said as he trailed off. “Cerberus could have broken through the door and killed us all including the Council and she wouldn’t have done it.”

It took Kaidan a moment to understand the full meaning of Garrus’s words. When his mind was clear, his intuition was usually good enough to realize what was strange and why by the time he realized anything was strange to begin with. Now, with everything going on, the process was slower but eventually he came to the heart of it.

“But you would.”

Garrus set his chin and kept his eyes on the wall as he said, “Yes.”

Kaidan took a step toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Garrus’s whole body tensed at the contact as if he expected a blow. He waited the minute it took for Garrus to look at him. The blue eyes were hard, almost defiant.

“Thank you,” he said.

If Garrus had been human, his jaw would have hit the floor. As it was, his mandibles flared open disturbingly wide and then closed again in the turian equivalent.

“People are always telling her what they need,” Kaidan continued. “They need this data retrieved. They need that hostage rescued. There’s an agreement they need brokered or a rumor they need looked into. They never stop to ask what she needs.” He pressed his hand a little harder into Garrus’s shoulder. “She would have needed someone else to do it. It’s good to know I’m not the only one who cares about her needs.”

With a final pat, Kaidan removed his hand but, before he completed the motion, Garrus turned to face him. He raised his right arm to chest height, holding the forearm at a low diagonal with his hand fisted. He looked at Kaidan expectantly but didn’t move until the human hesitantly mirrored the position. Garrus pressed their forearms together, forming a shallow X.

“You’re on her three,” he said. “I’m on her nine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon Notes:  
> Crossing/pressing forearms as described here is a sign of trust and respect in turian culture. It is less intimate than touching foreheads but more so than a human salute.


End file.
